


Dance, Dance, We're Falling Apart

by canonkillsmyships



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 4 + 1 Times, 5 + 1 times, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Dancing, Fluff, Gen, It doesn't end that way, Music, They all need a hug, They start happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 02:32:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17972786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canonkillsmyships/pseuds/canonkillsmyships
Summary: Or : 4 times music brought the Hargreeves together and 1 time it just wasn’t enough."They wouldn’t be a family much longer anyway, not after Klaus was no where to be found the next morning and Diego left in the middle of the night the next week. Allison and Vanya were gone soon after that, starting new lives on their own, and Luther was once again left alone in his room, wishing he knew where he had gone wrong."





	Dance, Dance, We're Falling Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Exploring these dynamics was definitely interesting and I'm looking forward to everyone else's views.
> 
> Let me know what you think!

1.

 

Music had always been one of the only ways the Hargreeves siblings knew how to connect. It started when they were 5 years old and Grace had decided to put on a record for their afternoon music lesson – Hargreeves was willing to allow a limited amount of ‘playtime’ for the children. At first, they were simply listening, trying to feel the rhythm so that Grace could begin teaching them how to dance. They were only a few minutes into the song when Pogo called Grace away and immediately Four and Two were sharing mischievous looks. They were thick as thieves at that age, and constantly getting themselves into trouble somehow.

 

They clambered up off the floor, grabbing Six and Seven with them and ran to an open space on the floor. Three and Five were quick to follow and join in on the jumping, twirling and giggling.

 

“Guys! We’re not supposed to get up!” Two rolled his eyes at the whine in One’s voice.

 

“C’mon One, it’s fun!” Three squealed, grabbing his hands to yank him up. 

 

He sighed and pulled his hands away. 

 

“Okay, but just for a minute!” 

 

The others saw through his act immediately and cheered as he joined them, the group of seven spinning and leaping around each other.

 

Their joy was short lived, however.

 

Their laughter had clearly been loud enough to draw their father out of his office, and he appeared in the doorway looking furious.

 

“Children! This is no time for fun. You are supposed to be having a serious lesson. Where is your nanny?”

 

Grace came into the room as the children sat back down in their numbered line. 

 

“Apologies, sir. Pogo called me away for just a moment.” She quickly removed the record from the turntable and placed it back in its sleeve.

 

“See that it doesn’t happen again.” He turned to leave. “and Number One? I’m very disappointed in you.”

 

One looked down with tears in his eyes, and Two placed a gentle hand on his back while the rest of them stared after their father as he walked away.

 

~~~

 

2.

 

Five was gone. Five was gone and they’d finally been given real names as if to make up for his loss. If anything, it only made them miss him more, knowing he would never get a name of his own.

 

It was a struggle, remembering to answer to their new names, although their father still referred to them by their numbers. Mom and Pogo used their ‘normal’ names often, which the kids knew was a way of acclimatising them. 

 

Seven (Vanya) struggled the most. She felt guilty for not stopping Five (always Five) from leaving that day, although the others had tried dispassionately to convince her otherwise. Her beloved violin felt too heavy, like she was trying to hold the weight of the world to her shoulder rather than a wooden instrument.

 

The powerful sounds of her bow on the string no longer filled the otherwise quiet halls of the academy. Instead, a heavy silence blanketed the house and its inhabitants. 

 

A month after Five’s disappearance, Seven (Vanya) sat in the centre of their old play/school room. It hadn’t seen any use for at least a few years, not since the others were old enough to begin their physical training. She had a new, smaller classroom to study in. It only made her feel lonelier to stare at the grey walls as she tried to pay attention to the subject Mom was teaching, wondering what her siblings were doing.

 

Noticing the old turntable in the corner of the room, a small stack of records next to it, Seven (vanyavanyavanyamynameisVANYA) gently set up a record, one she remembered from their joint music lessons – those were long gone, she was the only one allowed to study music now. The upbeat song seemed inappropriate, but she couldn’t gather the energy to change it as she lay back on the plush carpet. Eyes closed, Vanya listened.

 

It wasn’t until the song ended that Vanya notice she wasn’t alone. Each of her siblings sat or stood somewhere in the room, all with their eyes shut. Some were crying, and it took Vanya a moment to realise that she was one of them. 

 

And for just a second, her mind cleared. They were together, connected by the same song they had once danced to as innocent children in this very room and Vanya knew that with her family there, she would be fine.

 

~~~

 

3.

 

The sound threaded through the house, reaching even the most quiet and secluded corners. It was late afternoon, which meant the Umbrella Academy had a break from training before dinner and as such the Hargreeves children had scattered to their own bedrooms.

 

Ben was the first to be coaxed away from his room, creeping out of his open door to follow the solemn sounds of the bow sliding across Vanya’s violin. He quietly found his way to her bedroom door and stood in silence as he watched her play. 

 

Allison and Luther came next (Ben noticed they both came from Allison’s room rather than separately) and stood calmly next to him in the doorway. They were both entranced in the delicate movement of Vanya’s body as she pulled rich notes from the strings of her instrument.

 

Klaus stumbled down the corridor, clearly high or drunk or some other kind of intoxicated, but Ben glared and shushed him before he could make a noise and disrupt the beautiful playing. Klaus held his hands up in surrender and came to stand behind Ben as they continued to watch Vanya.

 

The final one to appear was Diego, who looked more annoyed than curious as the rest of them had been – obviously he was there to tell Vanya to stop playing or close her bedroom door. He paused for a moment when he saw them all standing there, but continued walking until he stood with the rest of them. He opened his mouth to say something but received four angry glares before the words could leave his mouth. Diego sighed and instead turned to watch Vanya with the rest of his siblings.

 

Unfortunately, the song soon came to an end and Vanya’s playing slowed to a stop. She gently placed her violin back into its case and turned to set it beside her desk. She stopped in her tracks when she found her siblings standing in the doorframe staring at her.

 

“Um… Hi?” She said nervously, unused to receiving so much attention from anyone. ”Can I help you?”

 

Allison rushed into the room and wrapped her arms around Vanya, a rare show of affection. 

 

“You played so beautifully!” she exclaimed.

 

Ben nodded in agreement.

 

“Thank you?”

 

After Vanya’s quiet acknowledgement of their praise, they soon returned to their own rooms, Diego still looking annoyed. Everyone except Ben.  
He lingered for a moment and Vanya shuffled nervously.

 

“You really did play amazingly. I’m proud of you Vanya.”

 

They shared a soft smile, before Ben nodded and turned away, leaving Vanya to stand in the middle of her bedroom with her violin clutched to her chest and a small satisfied smile on her lips.

 

~~~

 

4.

 

All five of them piled into the car, Diego in the driver’s seat, Klaus riding shotgun and Vanya crushed awkwardly between Allison and Luther in the back seat. Luther furiously hushed Klaus when he slammed the door a little too loud – if their father discovered them out of bed and out of the house long after curfew, they would all face the consequences, some more than others.

 

It had been a long time, too long, since they had all sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to visit the donut store – or even just to walk around the streets together. Five was usually the one pioneering their mischievous escapades as children and since he was gone it fell on either Luther or Diego. Luther was too busy being a goody-goody and Allison did whatever he said. Vanya barely spoke to any of them and Klaus (the only one that Diego could stand to talk to for more than a few seconds) was high out of his mind more often than not.

 

However, this particular night was exactly four years since Five had disappeared and for the first time in a while, Vanya had quietly stepped into each of their bedroom doorways and requested they go out together to celebrate? Mourn? None of them quite knew exactly, but it had felt right and so they all agreed and here they were, sitting in a car with no idea where to drive. 

 

Eventually Diego simply started the car and pulled out onto the streets, driving aimlessly for a long time. An awkward silence filled the car and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

 

“Well, this sucks.” Klaus drawled, reaching forward and switching the radio. Immediately the sound of one of Luther’s records came through the speakers and Vanya shrank uncomfortably as Allison and Luther shared a secret smile over her head.

 

It was silent for a few more seconds, before Allison quietly began to sing. Klaus was quick to join in and Luther nodded his head as he murmured the lyrics. Diego let out a long-suffering sigh as even Vanya joined in, smiling wider than any of them had seen in years but his leg started to bounce in time with the catchy tune.

 

They didn’t know where they were going. Where they were driving, where their lives were leading them, but for as long as the music lasted, they were family, and they were safe.

 

~~~

 

+1.

 

It was the worst day of their lives. Worse than being trapped in a mausoleum or locked in a tank of water. Worse than being called ordinary or doubting your own existence. Worse than losing your brother at 13 because at least there was some hope that he had only run away and he would eventually come back.  
Not this time. 

 

The five remaining Hargreeves siblings sat in the lounge, blank stares and silent tears on their faces. It was torture, knowing that their last memories of their brother would either be his blood-soaked body, the monsters under his skin still trying to fight their way out even as they grew weaker without their host’s support, or the ridiculous statue in the courtyard that their father had designed, leaving Ben forever trapped in his Umbrella Academy uniform. However, he had been decent enough to let them choose the engraving, and it was Vanya who had decided upon the eloquent phrase, even though Ben’s darkness had never found peace.

 

It was a long time staring into nothing before they finally dispersed, each of them disappearing into their own bedrooms for the chance to mourn in isolation. Soon after, the opening tune of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ by Whitney Houston began to weave their way down the hall, entering each of the Hargreeves’ bedrooms and overpowering the sound of their sobs. 

 

Diego, who had been ignoring the tears dripping from his cheeks as he vigorously cleaned his knives, stood violently only seconds after. He stormed down the hall, drawing the attention of his siblings who popped their heads through their doors to watch, and slammed his way into Luther’s room.

 

“T-Turn it o-off! T-TURN IT OFF!” He yelled. Allison, only next door, reached him first and laid a gentle hand on his back.

 

“Diego, calm down.” She murmured, only to be shoved back, which earned an angry reaction from Luther as he stood menacingly.

 

It quickly turned into a shouting match between the two of them, Klaus and Vanya watching from the doorway while Allison tried desperately to calm the situation.  
The yelling echoed in Klaus’s ears and he was soon overwhelmed by his siblings’ arguing and Ben’s urgent pleading for him to step in. His hands flew to his ears and Vanya turned to him, concerned.

 

“Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!” He screamed desperately.

 

It went silent, the music off and his brothers and sisters watching him in shock. 

 

“Ben wants you to stop. Please, it’s too loud.” Klaus groaned, turning away and running to his room.

 

Vanya was quick to follow, not wanting to be caught up in another argument and Diego shot one last glare at Luther before he, too, went back to his room. Allison lingered for a moment, and then she also disappeared behind her door. Luther sat down on his bed with his head in his hands, wondering why he couldn’t seem to do his job and keep his family together.

 

~~~

 

They wouldn’t be a family much longer anyway, not after Klaus was no where to be found the next morning and Diego left in the middle of the night the next week. Allison and Vanya were gone soon after that, starting new lives on their own, and Luther was once again left alone in his room, wishing he knew where he had gone wrong.


End file.
